Last night my son and I headed up to a high peak in the San Juan Mountains of SW Colorado into the cool thin air in hopes of capturing the rare lunar eclipse.  At first a small persistent cloud obscured the moon so we had to head to even higher ground before we were able to see this incredible sight.  The whole sky went dark during the eclipse with the milkyway clearly vibrant and visible.

It seemed really strange to see the dark sky with a full moon…  It was an eerie but absolutely gorgeous sight to witness.

#superbloodmoon #lunareclipse #sanjuanmountains #Moon #eclipse #landscapephotography #colorado

I finally had the unique opportunity to explore the Eastern most region of the Beautiful Grenadier Range located in the San Juan Mountains of SW Colorado. Getting there was quite a chore as I almost lost my bumper after getting high centered on a large rock on the terrible path leading to the trailhead. Lucky for us, my father-in-law was following behind with his Razor so we abandoned my vehicle and he was easily able to navigate the difficult path that led us to our journey. We arrived a few hours before sunset so we immediately scrambled up the trailhead I had never traveled before where we were quickly rewarded with a spectacular view of the eastern edge of the Grenadiers which included Guardian, Silex, Whitecap, Peak One, Trinity, and a whole host of other unnamed peaks and high alpine lakes.

The tundra had already changed colors with beautiful reds mixed with greens, golds and browns. I set up for a sunset shot with an alpine lake backdrop and was fortunate to have the perfect conditions for a nice sunstar with its beautiful saturated colors illuminating the alpine floor. This was a place where dreams are made of. We spent many more hours exploring this region and hopefully some of these photos will allow you to share in our wonderful experience…

Canon 6D with 24-70L, 16-35L with Dolica carbon pro tripod.

To those camping below, I have your profile shot ready. Just send me an email to receive.

Late in the evening while sitting atop an unnamed peak in the San Juan Mountains of SW Colorado, the thought of a nice sunset was quickly fading as darkness was quickly setting in.

Then, like so many other times, the sun that had long ago set behind a distant mountain range (or so I thought) suddenly burst forth highlighting my face and the peak I was standing on along with the other peak tops only a short distance away. To be up close and personal with the beautiful saturation all around is the most incredible feeling.

Sometimes people ask me how I can tolerate waiting at 13k plus feet for a sunset when walking down a steep mountain peak in total darkness is guaranteed.  I say anyone who has experienced this could give them a good explanation especially when rewarded with a beautiful sunset or sunrise.   I think my picture speaks for itself even though it doesn’t do it justice, what I was so fortunate to witness…

Unfortunately, there are many times out in the field when nothing happens so when you get a moment like this, it makes it all worthwhile.

I included two behind the scenes shots one before and one during the sunset.

Pano stitch by Adobe Lightroom 6,  Canon 6D with 16-35L,  f/18,  16mm, 1/8 sec, ISO 250, Dolica carbon fiber tripod professional.